French immersion registration in Kamloops to move from lineup to lottery

By Brendan Kergin

(FILE PHOTO /InfoTel Multimedia)

June 11, 2016 - 1:00 PM

KAMLOOPS - Late night line-ups could be a worry of the past for parents signing their kids up for French immersion in Kamloops.

A lottery will likely replace the first come, first serve system for parents registering kindergarteners and first graders their schools of choice. The lottery would be used when there are fewer places for students than students applying.

The Kamloops Thompson school board is looking at the change at a meeting next week.

“It was put forward in response to the fact people lined up and camped out overnight to register at the French immersion schools,” he says.

He says there are a couple caveats in how the system will work, but essentially parents will have a period of time to register their child or children for regular kindergarten classes. All the names will go into a lottery, and names will be drawn for spots in the school. The draw will continue for placement on a wait list after all spots are full.

Families with a student already at the school will have an earlier draw, which will virtually ensure families don’t have to go different schools.

“I don’t know whether it’s more fair, some people suggested it’s more fair,” he says. “It’s the luck of the draw instead of first in line.”

This isn’t a solution to the issue he says, which is trying to place all the students who want to go to a school of choice into their chosen school.

“The real solution is to create more spaces if the demand warrants it,” he says.

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